As part of our Demographic Overview series, we just published Digital Natives: A Demographic Overview; previously, we published research on digital dads and digital moms. For readers who haven’t heard the term before, Digital Natives are the individuals currently ages 12 to 17, and they will soon become the most sophisticated consumers in the digital world. Forrester defines Digital Natives as “individuals who have grown up in the age of technology and cannot imagine a life without computers, cell phones, and social networking.”

With the increasing numbers of these Digital Natives, it is imperative that companies get to know them — and the earlier the better. They adopt digital technology faster than older generations; they can’t imagine a life without digital “essentials”; and they combine these digital activities in sophisticated ways.

For example, Forrester’s Consumer Technographics® data shows that boys, on average, spend 6.1 hours playing video games per week, and when they have discussions on social networks, video games are the No. 1 topic. Moreover, despite having little disposable income yet, more than one-third of Digital Natives have either researched or purchased a product or service online in the past three months.

Our Digital Natives will soon enter the next phase of their lives. Getting more insight into these young consumers — what they care about, where they spend their time, what they are willing to accept or compromise on, and what they expect — can help companies better understand how to deliver an overall experience for future products that speaks to these Digital Natives in their customer journey.